ITALIAN rationalists are demanding the resignation of the country’s Foreign Minister, Franco Frattini over incendiary remarks he made in an article he wrote for the Vatican newspaper Osservatore Romano.
Frattini, according to atheist Marc Alan di Martino’s blog, labelled atheists as “perverse” and a “threat to society”. Frattini called on Christians, Muslims and Jews to unite against secular “extremists” whom, he claimed, posed a grave threat to society.Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini
This so “pissed off” di Martino that a wrote to President Giorgio Napolitano, complaining about Frattini. And he said this on his blog:

So it’s war he wants, and he’s rallying his homophobic, misogynistic friends at the Vatican against his fellow citizens in a holy alliance which is supposed to include their worst historical enemies, Jews and Muslims. I’m beginning to think we’ve entered a new phase of religious warfare on Earth: it’s no longer going to be Muslims vs Christians or skirmishes over minor doctrinal differences, but the faithful against the secular. The only thing they can agree on is that non-believers are the enemy (at least they can finally agree on something) of their unfounded truths.

He added:

I should point out Frattini’s howler in his call for a new humanism. Is he really unaware of the fact that almost all atheists are humanists? And that faith in the supernatural is by definition not humanism, because it relies on a power outside humanity to solve humanity’s problems? That’s why we call ourselves humanists.

The Unione Degli Atei e Degli Agnostici RazionalistiÂ (UAAR) was equally outraged, and its secretary, Raffaele Carcano blasted off the following letter to the President:

We had occasion to read an extremely incendiary article that the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Franco Frattini, wrote on 22 October 2010 on the subject of non-believers. Specifically he declared that â€˜atheism, materialism and relativism’ are â€˜perverse phenomena’ that â€˜threaten the stability of society’ and that must be fought against by an alliance of Christians, Muslims and Jews. What is even more disquieting is that this article was published in the daily newspaper of the Holy See, L’Osservatore Romano.A politician who openly declares his hatred of atheists and who promotes a Holy Alliance against a minority (albeit significant) of Italian citizens is clearly not worthy to serve in the capacity of minister of a nation whose constitution identifies freedom of conscience and secularism as two of its most fundamental principles. UAAR, a non-profit organization founded to promote social issues and that has as its primary objective the defence of the civil rights of the agnostic and atheist citizens of Italy, formally requests that you, in your role as guarantor of the Italian Constitution, intervene against the Honourable Minister Frattini, in order that he retract his offensive statements or, if he refuses to do so, require him to resign. Such action is justified because the minister’s ideas are patently incompatible with the Constitution.

In any event, our association will take all possible steps to draw the attention of the public both in Italy and abroad to the statements made by Minister Frattini, which are so unfitting for one in his position.

I read Freethinker in order that my bizarre-o-meter be regularly adjusted. Same as the Doomsday Clock. This story just pushed it up another tick on the scale as we quickly approach “tilt”.
The late, wonderful comedian George Carlin often suggested that in order to make it through life he determined to have “no stake in the outcome” of things. He resigned to having “observer status”. And he once said “when you’re born on this planet you get a ticket to the Circus. When you’re born in America, you get a front row seat”. I think this deserves amending as Italy is quickly reaching for first prize, particularly for continuing to host that sinkhole known as the vatican.
And Carlin also said, “things are going to get very interesting, and entertaining”. I wish he were around to see that he was spot on.

elainek123

So he says this about Atheists. Religion is great is it, sending bombs to synagogues is being good I suppose.
Still what do you expect from self-obsessed bigots.Yes I do feel very strongly about this.

barriejohn

He’s an Italian politician. Say no more!

Stuart H.

Italian Catholic politicians -still continuing in the great tradition of their mentor, Mussolini!

Macedonio Fernandez

This gives me the creeps.

Great Satan

So this politician is calling for a holy alliance of those who are usually at each others throats in arguments over who has a better relationship with their imaginary friend ! Aside from the fact he is ignoring the real and tangible threats to social fabric and indeed democracy itself come from Catholicism and its cover up up pedophilia, and the steady march of islamism, it is he who is dividing western society by singling out and slandering a particular group …yep, sack the imbecile I say !

Please, please – I’m desperate for an answer on this.
I’m willing to keep an open mind – maybe atheism, materialism and relativism are going to destroy the human race, but I’d really love to hear a justification for this – anything….
If I don’t get an answer on this, I’m sorry, but I’m just going to have go with my original perception, i.e. that these clowns are just demonizing words in order to bang a political drum.

ZombieHunter

Christians muslims and jews rarely agree on anything and lets not forget all the differn’t factions within these religions that don’t even get on with people who are supposed to be of the same faith so it’s highly unlikely that they’ll unite against atheists/freethinkers or whatever.
And yes it is a shame George carlin isn’t around anymore, it’s unfair that decent intellegent folk are gone and we’re stuck with arseholes like fred phelps the pope and other such nutjobs, there’s an optimistic part of me that wants to beleive people are turning away from religion however the pesimistic part of me is worried about the fundies from all faiths who seem to be getting more and more militant and demented as the day goes by.

Broga

Frattini is revealing the desperation of the religious tyrants, such as Ratzo, who know that reason is corroding their power by the day. A prime weapon, powerful and direct, is the internet which evades their cloying censorship. Of course, the submissive sheep in their flocks, a main characteristic being fear and ignorance, still bend to their will but even they are now facing challenges they cannot handle.
Frattini should be on the truly dire BBC Thought for the Day where only “those of faith” are permitted. What faith, maybe faith in fairies or gnomes or elves, remains unspecified. What is censored from this sickly programme is reason and challenge to the vapid superstitions of its contributors. How much longer before this terminally ill programme gets the bullet? The BBC could save a bit of money here.

Stonyground

I think that the “fundies from all faiths”, Hunter, are getting “more and more militant and demented” because it is slowly dawning on them that the game is up. The atheists and agnotics are the enemy because we are the ones that are pointing out that their various emperors are naked and they can’t convince anyone with any intelligence that even one of them is even wearing a thong.
Rival religions maybe their enemies up to a point but at least they believe in some undetectable stuff and so they can just fight over who has the best non-existant stuff. Atheists are saying that they are all wrong unless they can provide evidence to the contrary. The obvious way to deal with the atheists would surely be to present them with such evidence. Their failure do do so sort of makes it look as if they don’t have any and if that is the case, they need to ask themselves why they are not on our side.

Broga

Ratzo had us as Nazis ignoring his own membership of Hitler Youth, his defence of his cover-ups by diplomatic immunity confered on a predecessor by the fascist Mussolini who, with his mistress, was killed and hung up by his heels in public by the Italians. They howl about the terrible effects of atheism while leaving vague why this should be but merely attempt, by lies, to instil fear.
We atheists might ask about what has been acheived after 2,000 years of their fantasy three-in-one godhead. A planet which increasingly seems terminally sick, Ratzo adds to the sickness in his manic pursuit of removing birth controls, the tens of thousands of child victims abused by his priests and nuns, the wars, the tortures, the censorship, the fear of open debate, the closing down over the centuries of rational scientific enquiry in favour of the bizarre fantasy that everything, on biblical authority, is already known.
They are losing the game as they long ago lost the plot. Their political minions, too smart themselves to believe the superstitions, see the advantage in fooling the ignorant who each posses a vote.

David Anderson

@ Brogda
Nail, head. Â¡Bavo!

Broga

@David Anderson
Kind of you to say so. Thank you.

barriejohn

When youâ€™re born on this planet you get a ticket to the Circus. When youâ€™re born in America, you get a front row seat.
Funniest thing I’ve heard in ages!

Why does’t he fuck off and condemn his own Prime Minister if he wants to slag someone off who is not only an affront to humanity, but also to his supposed religion?
I have noticed that the church engages in a bit of muted whinging about Berlusconi, but is always on his side when push comes to shove because he pretends to be on their side on culture war issues. Easy “concession” fr him to make & look how it pays off.

Graham Martin-Royle

As the song had it, “Running Scared”.

Har Davids

The guy must feel desperate if he wants Muslims and Jews to join in some Crusade-Jihad kind of battle; it’s as if he wants the ‘End of Times’ to descend upon us. I wonder what would he would have written if Atheists were as militant as dangerous as he describes them. It reminds me of the Japanese who were really impressed by the Jews, the way Hitler was ranting about them; he made them sound dangerous to the extreme! Should we feel insulted or flattered now?

Milz

If Christians, Jews and Muslims were ever to agree on anything, it was always going to be hatred… negativity seems to be all they know. i mean have you read the bible?!

Russell W

Frattini is a politician touting for Christian, Jewish and Moslem votes,so he invented the ‘atheist menace’. I wish we were as influential as Frattini ‘believes’, regrettably we aren’t.
Broga,
I’m sure his Oiliness has a lot to answer for,however we can hardly blame him for joining the Hitler youth.

@ Russell W
Maybe we canÂ´t blame Herr Ratzinger for joining the Hitler youth but we can sure blame him for keeping keeping quite when HitlerÂ´s atrocities are blamed on atheism.
@ Broga
Your welcome. It should have read Â¡Bravo! of course and Broga, not Brogda. (Must learn to proof-read.)

In a way, it is good that this bigoted idiot made those comments so openly. Following the stink, we know exactly where lies the cadaver that needs to be disposed of. True “atheism” is not lack of belief in God, but a total lack of values and ethics. At the risk of sounding like Nietzsche, the real danger is not atheism but nihilism.

susan

War? don’t you need us to congregate in 1 place to wage war upon us? What are they going to do ..blow up every pub on every corner of every country in the world? hack every atheist’s computer all over the world?.

goddamnathiest

See, us atheists are actually UNIFIERS!
Only we atheists can unite ALL THE RELIGIONS IN THE WORLD!
It is our DUTY to unify them and therefore bring world peace.
In doing so, we will take their attention off of politics and direct it at us, the atheist.
Just think what we will be able to do!
No longer with the religious crazies want to dabble in politics.
No longer will religious crazies want to commit terrorist acts at the poor person the the street, nor bomb abortion clinics, nor hijack airliners and fly them into buildings.
With their hate directed at us, the world can once again be a safe place to raise your children.
But seriously, in this respect we are unifiers. We are something those clowns can all agree upon, they hate us.
And sadly, these are the people who need someone or some “thing” to hate. Without someone or thing to hate, their lives have little or no meaning.
However, when we’re gone, they’ll all turn on the Jews….

Terry J. Blake

Folks, I have a really crazy idea. Let us stop fight among one and other. Let us join together and fight hunger and disease in Africa. That is a worthy fight for all humanity. This is one of the few fights man can get into where everybody gets to feel good at the end of the day and be heroes.
I am an a friend of the Irish Free Thinker
Dark Holy Ghost

Wayne Wilson

to declare unity between the religions to battle atheism is a sure sign of desperation. such a declaration can only cause atheists everywhere to join together in a common bond to eradicate the nonsense of faith once and for all.
atheist groups are forming and growing everywhere! the writing is on the wall; religion is doomed. when we atheists are the majority (and make no mistake, that time is coming!) we will see positive change for all of humanity.
join ‘African Atheists’ on facebook. there is still rampant superstition and primitive beliefs poisoning many there. help bring africa into the 21st century.
what we need is a World Wide Atheist group. an ‘umbrella’ group that supports and educates atheists everywhere.

Manfraco Laws

looking at the broad base of this situation, one has to ask oneself whether this is really the beginning of the end of the present time religious situation; in other words this may well be the beginning of Armageddon, as forecast in the Bible, where the whole world wages war against each others. This may indeed happen if reason does not prevail, on the other hand one has to think that humanity has advanced to a stage where one can say that we are entering the age of reason, so let reason alone prevail.

Lucho

Many things strike me as curious in this information. For one thing, it goes really far in the issue of interfaith cooperation (there is a sketch with Steve Carell which is about a moslem and a christian agreeing on being against the jews, this is even better: moslems, christians AND jews against non believers). I always wonder what they would do with buddhists in such a situation: monotheistic or even politheistic believers donÂ´t like them because they do not speak about God or no God. Ahteists and -the worst of all, to my wit- agnostics give a damn about them because they wonÂ´t rule out the God-thing. Evenso, there is a great mistake in the text, and IÂ´ll just center on this: humanism is, among other things, if not about God, then about religion. Because religion is a human thing, and one of the most. It is correct when the author states that some atheists are humanists, but the believers of religion are much more. It’s a thing of the USA this crazy belief that humanism is opposed to religious belief. In fact, here it is the opposite: when the atheism of some people is very aggresive, bigoted and against other people, they are the in-humanists. In fact, to be religious here is conceived passing through humanism. You cannot be religious if you are not humanist. That is much better than that false dicotomy: religious-humanist. Religion is human, and hopefully, ‘humane’ (not the same in the USA).

The man is a dick, lets face it. Besides, united forces are only required when your numbers are significantly depleted and all but slim hope is lost. Nuff said…

Laurie

First they ignore us, then they fight us, then we win!

Wrenn

It because atheists don’t have any moral compass man… If you don’t believe in an imaginary friend who will punish you if you do bad things, and reward you if you do good things (after you die. There is no tangible proof of this reward or punishment) you can’t be moral. There’s nothing to stop you from killing, cheating, stealing, or lying.
The tangible, real, “life is much easier and I get along better with people if I refrain from doing these bad things” here and now, is not enough incentive. You NEED the incentive of being punished or rewarded in a place and time no one can tell you, for sure, will actually happen.
/sarcasm

Daniel

I’m shitting bricks already, LOL… How can anyone even hope to fight the FACTS with fairy tales, irrationality, ignorance and superstition?
They don’t need to start the war against us. All we expect from them is to prove by the scientific methodology the existance of the supernatural. Of course they are unable to do that (because it can’t be done…) so they are resorting to anger, hatred and violence in order to “prove” they are right… How typical.
They are history, we are the future. Humanity will sooner or later grow up and stop believing in fairy tales – and the religions will thus become superfluous. They are actually supefluous already, except for still being a very efficient tool for the politicians to manipulate the masses of ignorant people.

SAJP

Well, if it’s war with secularists and humanist-atheists they want then it won’t last very long — the Islamics, Jews, and Catholics will be at each others murderous throats way before they ever “join forces”.
I often laugh at the perversity of this saying by these warmongering religionists: “There are no atheists in foxholes.”
I’ve been in a foxhole, and I can tell you first hand, at the end of the day, there are plenty of atheists in foxholes, because no sign of God has ever been found in one no matter how hard one prays. In fact, if there is a God, he/she/it has never been seen anywhere near a battlefield. How could anyone ever have faith in a such a cowardly deity anyway?

ZAda

WHOA! Once you get rid of all us Atheists…they will all be after the Jews again! LOL!

sun

Totally agree…What kind of “God” would let children be molested by his spokesmen???B

billy

I prefer Antheists then muslims muslims dont give two fucks about christians or any other faith,